Stress is basically a state of mind induced by incidents or situations in a person’s life. We can safely say that stress is the result of worrying too much about something. People are stressed for many different reasons, some of them are important, like unemployment, unpaid debts, sickness, separation, divorce and things like this. Others are not important and are unavoidable, for example, traffic jams, delays at the bank or supermarket, bad weather, having to go to places where we don’t want to go, even talking to certain people may produce stress. Going to a job interview is an extremely stressing situation, there are people who will not be able to sleep the night before and toss and turn all night wondering if they will get the job or not.
There are no established causes or symptoms for stress, each human being reacts differently to each situation he or she encounters in life. At the same time it is very difficult to control it too. It is in human nature to worry about every day happenings and responsibilities. We all have to pay for electricity, gas, tuition and so many other things, every month of every year. It is also natural for us to be sick once in awhile, even death is part of the circle of life. Child birth is a natural happening, it should be a happy occasion but yet you find fathers that are unable to cope with this situation and would rather suffer at home in a corner and imagine all kinds of horrible things than stand by their wives while she is in labor.
When you are stressed your mind stops working, your feelings and imagination take over. Decisions taken under emotional stress are usually bad decisions; they are made based on an impulse and not on reason. The person may feel well and satisfied with the result temporarily but sooner or later it will return to haunt him or her and the stress level will be even higher because of this failure.
Stressed must be dealt with head on, if a person has a problem, he or she must face it and try to find a logical, practical solution for that problem. Sitting around turning it over in your head will not make it go away and many problems we face become larger if not solved or confronted in due time. You can’t find a job lying on your bed moaning and feeling sorry for yourself because you don’t have a job. You have to go out and look for one.
A person must teach himself to be optimistic, this does not mean going overboard, it just means you have to look at the bright side of life. Everybody has problems to deal with daily the point is how you deal with them. A person when facing a problem must first study it from all possible angles objectively, analyze all possible solutions and consequences and then take action.
When under stress a person should take a moment and distract him from the problem, go to a movie, visit friends, take a walk or even better, a jog in the park. Leave the problem behind for a while, afterwards return to it with a fresh perspective, rested and relaxed, the solution may have been standing before you and emotions did not allow you to see it.
There are situations in life that we can’t change or correct the death of a loved one is an example or a permanent incurable disease. In these situations the person must try to find a way to adapt their life to the new circumstances, pain will eventually go away if we move on with our lives. Care for a sick person may somehow be included in our daily schedules. Everything except death has a solution; people just have to look for it objectively and without feeling or emotion. Alcohol, drugs, tobacco, medications and things like this will not make the problem go away, they will make it worse.
If a person finds himself in a position where he feels he can’t cope with a problem, he should approach a friend or someone he trusts and talk about the problem, sharing will many times bring things back into perspective. If this does not help the assistance of a psychologist or psychiatrist may be necessary to deal with stress and its consequences.